Xbox 720 Permanent Connection Only the Beginning? Ian Livingstone Talks the Future With No Box

"When it first came around that the Xbox 720 might require an always online internet connection that would help prevent the sale of used games. As our interview with Eidos Life President shows however, that could just be the beginning."

I agree with Livingstone, it IS 'inevitable'. I would say that Gaikai is a much bigger step towards that goal than 'always on' though. In fact I wouldn't even count 'always on' as a step towards it at all. I'd say that 'always on' is more an attempt to stymie the second hand market, whilst Gaikai is an attempt to REPLACE the second hand market. And of course we don't even know if the 720 will actually have the 'always on' feature.

Gaikai pretty much will be a good way to play games you don't really want to own in the form of rental but I am really happy sony is making the PS4 design that if your downloading a game we can play it as it continues to download.

In the end I do think buying games from stores might end one day, but the whole always online should never be apart of any console though.

when my internet is down I should be able to play all my games located on my hard drives.

is there a difference between a constant internet connection that runs throughout my home and my ps vita doing a verification check before i play a game?

does that count as always on? I mean, just this morning i went to play motorstorm RC and it did this connection check and told me there was an update, I played without the update but it did this check before i played.

Is that what Ms is rumored to be doing to games? In my situation, I wasnt playing my game online but it went online to verify before it let me play in offline mode.

i think, since the inclusion of internet connectivity on the original xbox, there was always going to be the eventual "connected console" down the line. Be it with wires or wireless, if you have internet and you have your system connected to the internet your system now has the ability to be always on when it comes to being connected to the internet.

It does not mean you are always using it though. The used game thing, could be like what the vita does for me. It takes a few seconds just to verify and then lets you play. If the used game does not pass verification it would likely prompt you but if you disconnect your system from the internet, it cant verify any new content and should still allow for total offline play.

The reason that the vita connects online whenever you start a game that has an online component is because the Vita doesn't connect in the background like the PS3 or 360. If you have PS+, all games automatically update when patches come out. And if you dont know, after you install any update, if you touch and hold the home screen for a few seconds you can click on the games and see what the update does.

MS can't go with always online. If its true that little more than more than half of all 360s are currently online, then that about half their install base gone. Actively alienated.

The other rumor, the cable box rumor, isn't going to help them either. It might make up the loss of former 360 owners, give the 720 a Wii-like boost in sales, but are people really going to switch out their old cable boxes for a game console/DVR which will likely carry additional charges?

@GribbleGrunger: But they already know that the US alone can't support the Xbox.

And of course if they go with the always on via cable/internet provider its going to be specific providers and run into regional issues. Maybe they've cleared up issues like BBC licensing fees, but this has to start them all over again.

Yes, for those very same reasons I have my doubts about the rumours. The only way I can square it in any meaningful way is to 'assume' that MS are going to try and capitalise on the American market and let other markets take care of themselves. I can imagine them being able to persuade Americans to buy into the idea of always on simply because the 720 is an American product and MS will throw billions at the advertising, but outside of America it's a hard sell.

This is pure speculation but I believe it's worth considering: Is MS about to consolidate all of it's resources and aim squarely at the American market? We'll see, but IF the rumours are true, that's the ONLY way I can see this being a viable strategy ... but even then it's risky (unless Windows 8 becomes the 720s focus and the 720 is merely one other delivery mechanism to promote it.)

"And of course if they go with the always on via cable/internet provider its going to be specific providers and run into regional issues. Maybe they've cleared up issues like BBC licensing fees, but this has to start them all over again."

This why I think it's the only possible answer IF it's true. They'll struggle to get the cable support in other countries but they CAN 'possibly' lock it down in America. It depends entirely on whether MS believe they can gain more sales in America by going this route, and so offset any losses elsewhere.

@Olgero: If that was referring to me, Thank you ... if it wasn't then I apologise for being presumptuous :)

My friend does the same with his box. He has no cable, yet pays for xbox live, does all his tv watching on hulu and other video apps on the 360. His one box does everything as well for the price of Live.

Not only does his paying to play online with gold get him to play online games, it gives him tv and moves as well. We think of it as Xbox Live +.

While we pay 3 bucks a month to play our online MP portions of the game, at added bonus for free we have party chats with movie watching and tv show watching and many many extra apps... all for paying 3 bucks a month for MP. It's such nice extras to have.

I love rumors for 1 primary reason: They force me to watch the reveal to see what the fact really are. It is also entertaining to read comments were people take them as some official announcement. M$ is not stupid. There are in this to get as many customers as possible.

@Bigpappy: Thing about MS, the general current state of business, if there are any negatives, they aren't going to bring them up during the announcement. With something like always on if true they'll have spin-doctors in place before its finally admitted to.

People w/o online are going to wind up buying it, be unable to return it, then talked into going in on a cable deal regardless of what their local service is like.

Next gen consoles will go always online and thus always connected to social media, the cloud and other devices. Not connecting your next gen consoles means losing a large number of advertised options and functionality.

the xbox Cable box rumor if handled and implemented well could become a 'console seller' for casual gamers. Not entering this market and leaving it open for an apple (ios) or google (play) tv box would be a missed chance. On that note I would love to see one or both of the next gen consoles to open their doors to google play (not likely).

i dont mind always online for games that NEED it, nor do i mind digital retail. i prefer certain games as digital downloads out of convenience of not having to swap discs. what i dont like is the idea of not being able to play single player games offline, that absolutely needs to remain unaffected, or else why would i buy any games if i dont really "own" them outside of the digital space, or have a constant way of playing them? its not practical at all to have all games tied to online connectivity or only offered as digital releases. and if i cant buy second hand games, most $60 full retail titles will never see my cash then. i haven't bought more than one game above $40 since 2007, the exception being both Fallout games, Halo games, and Skyrim. i will simply hold out for price drops and always play catch up next generation if used games go the way of the dinosaur. and dlc, i haven't bought more than around $120 of DLC all generation, which is basically Halo map packs and some other random stuff.

If nxbox does do "always on" feature just to play anything, they will be digging their own grave.. Some ppl will buy it of course but nowhere near as many as this gen.. Theres a lot of people without internet & or poor internet connections so they wont like this at all..

My PS3 and 360 are both connected to PSN and XBL non stop. Heck so is my PC. I don't understand why it's so bad if a console is always online? My PS3, 360 and PC are always connected to the internet at all times, i have an Ethernet connection to all 3.

Its N4G's, there's always a reason not to buy an xbox. On topic I completely agree, everyone is connected, as soon as my current PC Xbox or PS3 is turned on it connects so I see my friends, updates etc, not a problem, in fact its the way ahead.

There's something much more simple than "Always online" that prevents me stepping forward and embracing the Xbox as a platform that I will own and invest in.

Paying to play online. I'm no cheapskate, but I will relay the facts: The connection it makes to play games online is P2P which doesn't cost Microsoft. Essentially, you are paying Microsoft to use your own pre-subscribed ISP bandwidth. I don't think enough people realise that or understand the consumer implications of it, but it's ridiculous that it is the defining feature of Xbox Live too - to be able to play the games you've already bought, online.

That's my bottom line and I won't budge on it. "Always online" would be another strike against a console which I'd otherwise quite like to own.

I'm just going to sum it up like this: Why would Microsoft ditch the "Pay to play online" route when it's clear to many that those fees are too beneficial to Microsoft? They know they can get people to pay to play online and they're making a pretty penny doing it.

As long as people keep paying for Live just to access online content, Microsoft will continue charging for it.

That's true, i dont see MS ditching their cash flow from live gold as well. Alltough i think they should change it up a bit. Maybe make the online play free, but maybe have the other features still require gold; party chat, deal of the weak sales, first access to demo's and arcades etc.

I would really be happy if the money i pay for gold would get rid of all the fucking ads on my dashboard..

PS Plus users have a much better deal imo. Getting actually free games and not just discounts. I believe you guys even get some dlc for free.

MS should take some pointers from that. Oh well it's only like 3,50 a month when you buy a year for around €40

Of course this is the publisher's dream - a complete and ultimate control over everything the consumer has now, leaving him with empty hands. This is a future when a consumer can't even dare to dream about owning a technology that is common and accessible now. This is not a step forward, it's a scary totalitarian regime that no sane gamer will agree to.

We're already being brain-washed with the same mantra: "It's the inevitable future. Embrace it or get left behind."

personally i dont play games unless there online anyways as far as if xbl went down i could live without playin the story mode till it came up... i dont really see the big deal but i do agree they would lose alot of buisness to the not hardcore gamer section which xbox is doin everything to gain so i don see this happening how u all think it will.. personally it would be integrated slowly so u wouldnt even notice like it would take the internet to check the disc the first time then u could play offline if u choose

Wait until PS+members with Gaikai will have games exclusively a week before street dates. You can wait a couple weeks to get physical copies of Halo 5 or have it on the XBOX live release date a week or two earlier. Become a member, monthly subscriptions, always online, this will be the way they beat used, piracy,and Gamestop...

Sky insist as part of you're contract with them. That a phone line must be plugged into the sattelite receiver, could this be another reason for always on-line? Im not sure wether i would want my console switched on continously just for the family to view tv, it just seems a bit shit to me. I have a dedicated box anyway with my viewing contract. Does anyone see the advantages that i dont, apart from it just all being one box. Im not trolling i want new box and ps4 on launch

There are some facts to consider that would warrent concern from those that are reasonable in their thinking.

We know the concepts' history. We know the concept serves no purpose or benefit to consumers. We know there is no demand by consumers to have it. We know it's not a service or product that is being sold, therefore it can't be something measurable in sales numbers or demand.

We know that it is being used despite the obvious flaws in the concept philosophy. It doesn't consider online limitations such as affordability, availability, reliability, or relativity. It only considers the requirements. Therefore no compromise can be made in the consumer's favor.

It is also a system that has repeatedly been unreliable and abusive even when the conditions are met, leading to the belief that the people and companies who are responsible for its' existance to be incompetent. Yet they continue to implement it. I can only conclude that this entity of control is a self centered one. If that is true then I can see no reason to think being "Always Online" isn't either.

The only question left to ask is how they will benefit from this? I bet the answers stretch far beyond keeping their software secure...